In recent days, our partner media revealed that the Azerbaijani "environmentalists" who closed the Lachin Corridor are connected with the Azerbaijani authorities (azatutyun.am, civilnet.am, fip.am).

These days, many photos and videos are being published in Azerbaijan of actions that are presented as peaceful, but which actually separated Artsakh from Armenia and caused a number of humanitarian problems in Artsakh. Azerbaijani Trend agency published a photo series yesterday.

Agency photos show a group of people participating in the action wearing identical blue jackets with inscriptions in Azerbaijani: Regional İnkişaf İctimai Birliyi and RIIB:

Photo from Trend

Regional İnkişaf İctimai Birliyi or "Regional Development" NGO is an Azerbaijani NGO. The website of the NGO states that it was created on the initiative of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation. "Regional Development" notes that the main goal of the NGO is to actively participate in the socio-economic, public, and cultural life of Azerbaijan, the formation of civil society, and the support of the steps taken by the state in the development of regions.

The website of the NGO also mentions the steps it takes to achieve its goals. Protection of nature and the environment is also among those steps.

The organization published photos from the "environmental actions" held in Lachin two days ago on its social networks, noting that "from the first minutes, a group of their employees and volunteers from different regions joined the action." Those volunteers and employees can be seen in Trend's photos.

Photo published by the NGO

It should be noted that the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, on the initiative of which the NGO "Regional Development" was established, was established in memory of the former president of Azerbaijan, Heydar Aliyev. The president of the foundation is Mehriban Aliyeva, the first lady of Azerbaijan.

Heydar Aliyev's photo and quotes from him are in some of the Facebook background pictures of the "Spatial Development" NGO. The NGO also makes publications about the former president of Azerbaijan (1, 2), participates in the organization of the competition named after him, and at their public events a poster with the photo of the current president of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev can be seen.

One of the events carried out by the "Regional Development" NGO was co-financed by the Government of Azerbaijan.

The NGO also has publications about the current president of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev. On the Facebook page of the organization, for example, photos from the visit of Ilham Aliyev and his wife to occupied Shushi were shared. And at the moment, on the Facebook background of the "Regional Development" NGO, it's written, "Karabakh is Azerbaijan."

Thus, a group of Azerbaijanis who closed the Lachin Corridor for "environmental purposes" are from the "Regional Development" NGO, which was founded by the initiative of the foundation established in memory of the former president of Azerbaijan, which is affiliated with the Azerbaijani authorities.

It should be reminded that it is already the sixth day that Azerbaijan continues to block the only road connecting Artsakh to Armenia. On December 12, at 10:30 a.m., a group of Azerbaijanis closed the Shushi-Karin section of the Stepanakert-Goris highway for environmental reasons.

Hundreds of citizens, including minors, cannot return home. The transport connection of Lisagor, Mets Shen, Hin Shen, and Yegtsahogh villages of the Shushi region with the capital Stepanakert is interrupted. Since December 13, Azerbaijan also interrupted the gas supply of the Republic of Artsakh, but yesterday the gas supply was restored.

Anna Sahakyan